Pagewidth printer that includes a computer-connectable keyboard

ABSTRACT

A pagewidth printer includes a housing that defines a print media inlet and a print media outlet. A pagewidth printhead assembly is positioned in the housing between the print media inlet and outlet. A feed mechanism is interposed between the print media inlet and the printhead assembly to feed print media through the printhead assembly. A key pad assembly is positioned on the housing and is connectable to a computer.

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.10/666,119 filed on Sep. 22, 2003, now issued as U.S. Pat. No.6,808,325, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.09/966,293 filed on Sep. 28, 2001, now issued as U.S. Pat. No.6,641,315, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No.09/112,767 filed on Jul. 10, 1998, now issued as U.S. Pat. No.6,416,167, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated byreference.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to a pagewidth printer. More particularly, theinvention relates to a pagewidth printer that includes acomputer-connectable keyboard.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Printers for use with computers can be relatively expensive devices.Accordingly, in a work environment, it is common for a plurality ofworkstations to be serviced by a single printer station with thecomputers of those workstations communicating with the printer.

This necessitates people at the workstation having to get up and collecttheir documents from the printer which can be time wasting. Often, allthat is required is a single sheet of paper, for example, where a letteris to be generated or where an image is to be viewed and a hard copy ofthe image is required.

Desktop inkjet printers are available at low cost, but typically take upsubstantial desk space. Incorporation of the printing function in adesktop computer keyboard frees up this desk space.

While it is technically possible to incorporate a scanning ink jetprinter into a keyboard, this has several disadvantages, includingexcess bulk, and side-to-side vibration as the printhead scans.

Recently, the present inventor has invented ink jet printer technologiessuitable for incorporation in a desktop keyboard, such as:

6,227,652 6,213,588 6,213,589 6,231,163 6,247,795 6,394,581 6,244,6916,257,704 6,416,168 6,220,694 6,257,705 6,247,794 6,234,610 6,247,7936,264,306 6,241,342 6,247,792 6,264,307 6,254,220 6,234,611 6,302,5286,283,582 6,239,821 6,338,547 6,247,796 6,557,977 6,390,603 6,362,8436,293,653 6,312,107 6,227,653 6,234,609 6,238,040 6,188,415 6,227,6546,209,989 6,247,791 09/112,764 6,217,153 6,416,167 6,243,113 6,283,5816,247,790 6,260,953 6,267,469 6,273,544 6,309,048 6,420,196 6,443,5586,439,689 6,378,989 09/425,420 09/422,893 09/693,703 6,406,129 6,505,9166,457,809 6,550,895 6,457,812 6,428,133all of which are incorporated by reference.

These ink jet technologies are suitable for the construction ofminiature, low cost pagewidth printers, which can readily fit within akeyboard form factor.

In this specification, the word “computer” is to be understood broadlyto cover such apparatus as personal computers, PDA's and the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided apagewidth printer that comprises

a housing that defines a print media inlet and a print media outlet;

a pagewidth printhead assembly that is positioned in the housing betweenthe print media inlet and outlet;

a feed mechanism interposed between the print media inlet and theprinthead assembly to feed print media through the printhead assembly;and

a key pad assembly that is positioned on the housing and is connectableto a computer.

The printer may include control circuitry and a suitable connector topermit the control circuitry to be connected to the computer to receiveprint data from the computer.

The housing may be generally rectangular with a pair of opposed majorsides and a pair of opposed minor sides, the print media inlet beingdefined in one of the major sides and the print media outlet beingdefined in the other major side.

The feed mechanism may comprise a belt and roller assembly for feedingthe print media from the media inlet to the printhead assembly.

The belt and roller assembly may include an idler roller positionedproximate the media inlet, a drive roller positioned proximate theprinthead assembly and a belt received over the drive and idler rollers.The assembly may further include a plate that bears against the belt tomaintain planarity of the belt.

At least one engaging wheel may be interposed between the printheadassembly and the media outlet to engage the print media and feed theprint media out of the media outlet.

The printhead assembly may include a pagewidth inkjet printhead and anink supply arrangement positioned on the printhead to supply theprinthead with ink.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided akeyboard which comprises

a housing that defines a media feed path;

a pagewidth printer arranged in the housing operatively with respect tothe media feed path to carry out a printing operation on media passingthrough the feed path; and

a feed mechanism arranged on the housing for feeding media through thefeed path.

The housing may be generally rectangular and may define an input slot inone side of the housing and an exit slot in an opposite side of thehousing, with the media feed path positioned between the slots.

The printer may include a pagewidth printhead and an ink distributionarrangement positioned on the pagewidth printhead to supply ink to thepagewidth printhead.

The feed mechanism may include an endless belt that is positioned alongthe media feed path such that the media feed path is substantiallyplanar and a roller assembly to drive the endless belt.

The invention extends to a computer which includes a keyboard asdescribed above.

The fact that the printer is a non-scanning printer provides a mechanismwhereby the keyboard is not subjected to vibration during operation.Furthermore, as will be clear from the referenced material above, theprinter can be significantly smaller that a scanning printhead, thusfacilitating incorporation of such a printer in a keyboard such as aconvention personal computer keyboard. Still further, the pagewidthprinter is capable of generating images at a speed which issignificantly greater than that possible with presently availableprinters having scanning printheads.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided akeyboard, particularly for use with a computer, the keyboard including

a housing;

an alphanumeric keypad carried by the housing; and

a page width printer arranged in the housing.

The housing has dimensions approximating those of a standard computerkeyboard, the housing having an ejection slot along one, longer sidethrough which print media can be ejected after the printer has printedan image on the print media.

Preferably, the housing includes an input slot along an opposed, longerside for feeding print media to the printer. Typically, the print mediais in the form of sheets of paper to be fed to the printer one sheet ata time.

The keyboard may include a feed means arranged in the housing forfeeding the print media from the input slot to the printer. The feedmeans may be arranged within the housing and may be in the form of abelt drive arrangement for feeding the print media to the printer.

Further, the keyboard may include an engaging means arrangedintermediate the printer and the ejection slot for feeding the printmedia out of the ejection slot. Thus, the engaging means may be arrangeddownstream of the printer and may be in the form of one or more spikedwheels which grip and transport the print media to the ejection slot.

As indicated above, the keyboard is particularly intended for use with acomputer. Accordingly, the keypad may include a standard, QWERTY keypad,a numerals keypad and a plurality of control keys.

The housing may include an access opening for enabling an ink supply ofthe printer to be replenished. A lid in a top surface of the housing mayclose off the access opening. The ink supply of the printer may includea removable ink cartridge which is accessed through the access openingof the housing.

Preferably, the printer is a full color printer. The printer may be aphoto quality printer.

The printhead may comprise an array of nozzles, said array beingfabricated by microelectromechanical (MEMS) techniques.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided acomputer keyboard which includes

a housing having an array of keys carried thereon and defining achamber;

a pagewidth ink jet printer arranged within the chamber of the housing;and

an input slot in one side of the housing for feeding print media to theprinter and an ejection slot in an opposed side of the housing throughwhich the print media is ejected after printing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is now described by way of example with reference to theaccompanying diagrammatic drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a three dimensional view of a keyboard, in accordance withthe invention;

FIG. 2 shows a sectional side view of the keyboard; and

FIG. 3 shows, on an enlarged scale, a sectional side view of part of thekeyboard.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, reference numeral 10 generally designates a keyboard inaccordance with the invention. The keyboard 10 is intended particularlyfor use with a computer. The keyboard 10 comprises a housing 12 on whicha keypad 14 is arranged. A printer 16 (FIGS. 2 and 3) is contained in achamber 18 defined in the housing 12 of the keyboard 10.

The housing 12 is dimensioned similarly to a conventional computerkeyboard and is substantially rectangular when viewed in plan having apair of opposed, longer sides and a pair of opposed, shorter sides. Aninput slot 22 is defined in one of the longer sides of the housing 12for feeding print media in the form of a sheet of paper 24 to theprinter 16. Preferably, the input slot 22 is defined in that side of thehousing 12 which, in use, is closer to a user of the keyboard 10.

An ejection slot 26 is defined in an opposed, longer side of the housingthrough which the sheet of print media, incorporating an image 28, isejected after completion of printing. An exit tray 30 extends outwardlyfrom the ejection slot 26 on to which the sheet of paper 24 is fed afterprinting.

The keypad 14 includes an array if keys 38 arranged in a QWERTY keypad32, a numerals keypad 34 and a plurality of control keys 36. Each key 38of the keypad 14 includes a key cap 40 which communicates with akeyboard circuit board 42 (FIGS. 2 and 3) through an opening in a topsurface of the housing 12. The key caps 40 engage key switches 44mounted on the circuit board 42.

The printer 16 comprises a page width ink jet printhead 46 mounted in asupport 48. The printhead 46 is a multi-color printhead for printingphoto quality images 28. Accordingly, the support 48 includes aplurality of galleries 50, each of which contains a different color inkto be fed via passages 52 to the printhead 46.

The printer 16 includes a controller printed circuit board (PCB) 55. ThePCB 55 receives printing commands from the computer (not shown) via aUSB connector 56 (FIG. 1). A printhead PCB 54 communicates with theprinthead 46 via a TAB automated bond film 58 or any other suitable,flexible film. The controller PCB 55 connects to the printhead PCB 54via a flexible film.

A retaining device, in the form of a locking member 60, releasably locksthe printer 16 in position in the chamber 18 of the housing 12. Thelocking device 60 includes a cam-like locking member 62.

Further, the printer 16 includes an ink supply cartridge (not shown) forfeeding ink to the galleries 50 of the printhead support 48. The inksupply cartridge is accessed through an opening, closed off by a lid 64(FIG. 1), in a top surface of the housing 12 to replace the cartridgewhen its supply of ink has been depleted.

The keyboard 10 includes a feed mechanism 66 for feeding the sheet ofpaper 24 to the printer 16. The feed mechanism 66 comprises an endlessbelt 68 which is rotated by a drive roller 70 and extends about anopposed, idler roller 72. A planar member in the form of a sprung metalplate 74 bears against the belt 68 to maintain the planarity of the belt68 and, accordingly, the sheet of paper 24.

An engaging means, in the form of at least one spiked wheel 76, isarranged intermediate the printer 16 and the ejection slot 26. The, oreach, spiked wheel 76 engages the sheet of paper 24, after printing ofthe image 28, and feeds the sheet of paper 24 through the ejection slot26 to be accessed by the user.

In use, when an image 28 is to be printed, the user inserts a sheet ofpaper into the keyboard through the input slot 22 where it is fed to theprinter 16 by the feed arrangement 66. By means of an appropriatecommand via the computer, the information or image to be printed is fedto the printer 16 via the USB connector 56 and the controller PCB 55.The printer 16 is controlled by the PCB 55 to print the image 28 on thesheet of paper 24 and to cause ejection of the sheet of paper 24together with its printed image 28 thereon through the ejection slot 26.

It is an advantage of the invention that a computer peripheral isprovided which enables a person rapidly to obtain copies of images whileseated before the person's computer. In this regard, it is to be notedthat the printer 16 is a high-speed printer which can print at rates ofup to 30 pages per minute. Hence, the need for using a communalworkstation is obviated. In addition, the incorporation of the printerwithin the keyboard 10 considerably reduces the space required for acomputer together with its peripherals and, in so doing, providing morespace to a user. It will be appreciated that this can be of majorbenefit where the workstation is a confined working space.

1. A pagewidth printer that comprises a housing that defines a printmedia inlet and a print media outlet; a pagewidth printhead assemblythat is positioned in the housing between the print media inlet andoutlet; a feed mechanism interposed between the print media inlet andthe printhead assembly to feed print media through the printheadassembly, wherein the feed mechanism comprises a belt and rollerassembly for feeding the print media from the media inlet to theprinthead assembly; and a key pad assembly that is positioned on thehousing and is connectable to a computer.
 2. A printer as claimed inclaim 1, which includes control circuitry and a suitable connector topermit the control circuitry to be connected to the computer to receiveprint data from the computer.
 3. A printer as claimed in claim 1, inwhich the housing is generally rectangular with a pair of opposed majorsides and a pair of opposed minor sides, the print media inlet beingdefined in one of the major sides and the print media outlet beingdefined in the other major side.
 4. A printer as claimed in claim 1, inwhich the belt and roller assembly includes an idler roller positionedproximate the media inlet, a drive roller positioned proximate theprinthead assembly and a belt received over the drive and idler rollers,the assembly further including a late that bears against the belt tomaintain planarity of the belt.
 5. A printer as claimed in claim 1,which includes at least one engaging wheel interposed between theprinthead assembly and the media outlet to engage the print media andfeed the print media out of the media outlet.
 6. A printer as claimed inclaim 1, in which the printhead assembly includes a pagewidth inkjetprinthead and an ink supply arrangement positioned on the printhead tosupply the printhead with ink.